West German Antique hand mill Grinders

[Joe]

So I want a travel grinder. As tempting as all the Hario, Kyocera, ceramic mills, etc... I can't make heads or tails of which is good or not. Zassenhaus seems to meet my needs. What is a good price and where should I get one? eBay...here?

[fffolks]

I used to buy, refurbish and resell vintage grinders on ebay. Pm me details on exactly what you are looking for, I can probably hook you up on the cheap.

[Joe]

I used to buy, refurbish and resell vintage grinders on ebay. Pm me details on exactly what you are looking for, I can probably hook you up on the cheap.

Yeah Man, that's what I'm talking about.

[Batman]

I'll throw my .02.  I bought the Porlex JP30 (sp?) last year in December, and have used it everyday since then to grind for pour over coffee.

No complaints from me, and I feel the grind is 97% consistent.  By that I mean that it does seem to let just a few less fine grinds slip through.  No big deal for my pour over though.  Replacement ceramic burrs are/were available online from a Canadian company from what I recall.

[donn]

They advertise some of their line as espresso grinders - what's up with that?

For example, http://www.zassenhaus.com/index.php?p=2&u=2, at the bottom, the black "Santiago" style is "Knie-Espressomühle", while the other apparently identical colors are "Knie-Kaffeemühle".  They've been doing this for many years, I've never seen any explanation.

If there's anything to it at all, other than espresso enthusiasts would prefer black stained wood, it would presumably be a more precise fit tolerance between the burrs?  The ironic thing is that this model (which I have) is the last one I'd choose for fine grinding, because the thin flat top can flex a little and the burr spindle is tied to it, so the burrs aren't held really firmly together.

[Joe]

Yeah I looked at the porlex and its many Chinese copies. But I'm not too big on Chinese knock offs for food related items and where quality is really important. Some of these Chinese porlex copies are at $14 which is not a big risk financially but some of the common complaints is that they have plastic pieces around the handle that break. Porlex has some complaints as well and at that price point come in the Zassenhaus which has decades of German quality behind it.

Strictly for pour over use. I don't have any needs for a manual espresso grinder. Solar power makes me want to make espresso with my machines.

[Batman]

Joe - Just curious, are you looking at one of the vintage looking, wooden box ones for travel...or one of their newer/sleeker models?  I know I considered one of those box models (shopping the internet), and I wasn't sure how clean it was going to be to dump grinds out of that rectangle bin into whatever brewing apparatus I am using.  I do like the looks of that sleek looking one they have, but someone mentioned capacity was (only) 12 grams.

[Joe]

Joe - Just curious, are you looking at one of the vintage looking, wooden box ones for travel...or one of their newer/sleeker models?  I know I considered one of those box models (shopping the internet), and I wasn't sure how clean it was going to be to dump grinds out of that rectangle bin into whatever brewing apparatus I am using.  I do like the looks of that sleek looking one they have, but someone mentioned capacity was (only) 12 grams.

The old ones, for sure. I don't need no; new fangled, plastic, ceramic, aluminum crap. I want real stuff...

All the new hand grinders look weird to me. If I was to design one it would be made a lot like the narrow box style.. wood and strong metal stainless most likely. and real metal burrs.

[rcmitchell]

Joe, would your perfect grinder know the perfect grind setting when the type of brewing is input?

[Joe]

Joe, would your perfect grinder know the perfect grind setting when the type of brewing is input?

as long as its on a real dial or something that is actually mechanical, yes. if I am pushing a button...no

[Joe]

So there seems to be a lot of info on the various forums regarding the antique German mills. However making sense of all the various info seems daunting. FFFolks is sending me a PeDe Grinder and I owe him a super huge favor for that one. But now I can't help but covet some of the various mills on eBay etc.

Is there anyone with knowledge(FFFolks) who would be willing to post benefits and what to watch out for on the various brands? It could be a long thread but if it was somewhat concise that would be great. If it's good enough I'll sticky it for future reference. I know the orphan espresso guy is really knowledgable but I'm not sure if he is a member.

[Joe]

Look what showed up at my door from the postman and fffolks! All I got to say is GCBC rocks with members like we have. I'm gonna grind some the Elida Natural catuai I already have roasted in this.

[donn]

We'll need some super macro photography on the grind results.

[Joe]

Mazzer super jolly fresh burrs 1st photo, med grind 2nd photo PeDe, slightly finer 3rd photo - I have a macro lens but the iPhone does ok.


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[donn]

The first photo looks much more consistent, most particles of similar size - seem that way to you?